Wednesday, 16 July 2014

The All Progressives Congress (APC) says the impeachment of the Adamawa State governor, Murtala Nyako, has no iota of value to add to the Nigeria’s growth and development, and even to the progress of Adamawa State. In a statement by the chairman of the APC Governors Forum, Mr Rochas Okorocha, released hours after the impeachment on Tuesday, the party stressed that the impeachment of the governor was not what the country needed at a period it is faced with serious security challenges.

Governor Okorocha expressed surprise that in spite of appeals and steps taken by patriotic leaders across the country to make the members of the Adamawa State House of Assembly review their impeachment move against the governor, with a view to resolving whatever was the bone of contention, the legislators still carried out the impeachment.

“What the nation needs most this time should be ideas, unity of purpose and patriotism to deal decisively with the lingering security problems threatening our nationhood and not actions that would further inject bad blood among the leaders of this country and the citizenry in general. The impeachment of the Adamawa State Governor and similar impeachment threats against the governors of Nasarawa, Edo, Rivers and so on, could be explained as bad politics of intimidation aimed at stifling the APC as a party and threatening our nascent democracy,” the statement read.

The APC insisted that the impeachment was not a good image laundering for Nigeria, saying it will not encourage other nations willing to help Nigeria come out of the security problem to take the nation serious. The Adamawa State House of Assembly’s speaker, Umaru Fintiri, has been sworn-in as the Acting Governor.

Earlier, the state Deputy Governor, Bala Ngilari, resigned from office to avoid being impeached. Mr Ngilari’s resignation letter was read at plenary by the speaker of the Assembly, Umaru Fintiri, after which the lawmakers approved it.